Coupler device



Nov. 30, 1954 F. H. KAYLER .2,695,713

COUPLER DEVICE Filed May 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

United States Patent CGUPLER DEVICE Frank H. Kayler, Alliance, Ohio, assignor to. American teel Foundries, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New ersey Application ,.1.9.5.1,.SerialmNQ., 224,812,

s claims. (el. 2135415)L This invention relates, to automaticA railway car coupiers, and, more particularly to` an improvedy knuckle throwing means` for. couplers such as the AAR Standard l` and proposed F couplers.

In couplersy o'f thisy type, the knuckle thrower is pivoted in tlieknllkl@ hladf and comprises a pair of arms, one of which is operated by the lock and -the other of whch actuates the knuckle during a knuckle throwing operation.` The lock is manually actuated by. an operating; rod connected bv well known linkage, t0'. the lieg 0f the lock depending from its' head, which is adapted in looked4 position to lock the pivotal knuckle in its closed position. Rotatable movement of the knuckle thrower to the point where it can be disassembled from the coupler head is, permitted but is limited by engagement of the. throat of its knuckle engaging arm withx end of bottom pulling lug of coupler head1` Rotatable movement of the knuckle thrower in its position of full knuckle opening must of necessity be less than its rotation for disassembly in Order to` prevent accidental disengagemerit. In prior art arrangement it has been` found that, duettowear of parts, the knuckle opens beyond its origincl position Permitting corresponding increased rotatlTQIl-.Qf the. thrower to ay position whereat its safety lug,

which normally underlies a shelf of the coupler head, is

disengaged, therefrom. so that inversion of the coupler head 0n a Car operated in. a rotary dumps: Causes` the knuckle thrower to assume an inoperative position. This diiiiculty. has also been found toV occur in case of diZQp head couplers used` on; front o f locomotives where head assumes. a partiallyy inverted position,

Accordingly, 'a nrimry` Object 'off the present invention is to positively prevent such, accioental disassembly of the knuckle thrower from its normal operative position in the Coupler, head.

Another object of the. invention is tof greatly increase the amount of rotation` necessary for the kunckle thrower to move from its,A knuckle-open` position tol its fully openl position` whereat such accidental disassembly thereof may occur.

Another object of the invention is to increase the amount of rotationof the knuckle thrower to move from its` knuckle-open position to its full open, or disas'- sembly position so that its movement between these two positions will be in excess ofV its rotation between the` points` of normall knuckle open position and knuckle openposition under conditions of maximum permissible wear.

A further object of the invention. is to` accomplish the foregoing objects, without` modifying the standard. couplen parts which cooperate with the knuckle thrower sothat, thevinvention may be readily applied; to, existing couplers..

A" more speciiic object of the, invention is to provide the knuckle engaging arrnof the thrower with a throat having a novelV contour, and, to provide any improved safety Vlug on the,outer edge of saidarm.

The, foregoing andl other objects and advantages of the invention willbecorne apparent from a consideratin of thefollowing specification andl the accompanyina drawings', Whereiur,

Figure 1y a topv plan View, Partly in. hQtizQntal Section through a. coupler head.` embcdyina the iai/enden;

Figure 2 is a side vieW of the coupler with portions of 21,695,713 Patgnted NQV., 3,0, 195.4

the coupler head, broken away along the 1011s,itllsliiulh vertical, center plane thereof and with its knuckle throw er guide slot and, related thrower artnr in section alongl the, line 2,.-2 of Figure. 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional' View on theA line 3.-.3.' of` Figure 1; l

Figure 4 is a top, planE view of the, novel knuckle thrower;

Figure 5 is an edge elevational view, of the knuckle thrower taken from the right, as seeni in, Figurel 4; and.

Figures 6 and 7 are sectionalI views taken on the. lines, 6 6 and` 7 7, respectively, of; Figure 4i.

Describing the invention in detailand'` referring first to Figures l and 2, the coupler head, generally desigated 2, is providedv withA a knuckle 4 pivoted therein onf a substantially vertical axis as,l for example: by a` pin. 6 extending through complementary openings inL top and; bottom ears ofthe knuckle head 2.,l only the bottom ear being illustrated in Figure 1, inasmuchas` this structure is conventional. lt may be noted that the knuckle 4 is shown in Figure l in solid lines" at its closed posi'- tion; and for the sake of clarity only such portions of; theu knuckle are shown as are; pertinent to the present invention inasmuch as the knuckle is of conventional cle-` sign.

The knuckle 4, in its closed position, is locked in the, usual manner by a head S (Figure, 2.)l of a lock generally designated 10,` said lock being vertically movable to locked and unlocked position within a cavity il of the coupler head 2 by a conventional operating mechanisrn such as that shown in Figure 2, wherein au lifter link 14 is providedwith a` substantially cylindrical 111gA or trunnion 16` slidably receivedr within` a diagonal slot` 18 in a leg 20 of the lock 10 depending from` the head; li thereof. The link 14 is pivoted as at 22 to avv rotor lever 24 having a jaw 2,6 slidably embracing a, rotor 2.8.

The lever 2 4 and rotor 28 are substantially identicalA in` form and function with the corresponding parts disclosed in my U. S.. Letters Patent No.` 2,467,317, and are not further disclosed hfrein` except tob note that in` Figure 2 the rotor has been rotad 1,0 a position whereat the lock 1t) has been lifted to engage a` trunnionA lug Sil thereof with a cooperating surfacef 32 of the coupler head 2 preparatory to a knuckle throwing operation, hereinafter described, or to lowering of theflock 1i), to. its lock set position whereat a conventional lock setv portion 34 of the leg 20 is engageable with a complementary seat 36 (Figure 1) of a novel knucklel thrower generally designated 3 8.` It may be noted at this point that in the lock set position (not shown)l of the, knuckle thrower 3S and lock 10, a lug 4Q (FigureV 2) o n the upper end of the link 14 rests in the usual manneragainstl an upwardly facing seat 42,L (Figure l) of the knuckle thrower 38.

The knuckle thrower comprises top and bottom substantially coaxial trunnions 44 and 4,6. The upper trunnion 44 is substantially truste-conical inV form and presents a generally conical bearingi surface 4S tapering toward the upper end ofthe trunnion 4.4. The throyver 38j also comprises a lock engaging arm 50 having the before mentioned lock set seat 36. and link seat 42T As clearly seen in Figure l,v the arm 50 of the thrower 38; projects from one side of the rotational axis of the trunnions 44 and 46, said axis being indicated at X--X in Figuresy 3 and. 5; and the thrower 38- comprises a knuckle actuating arm 52 projecting from the opposite side of said axis and comprising a nose 5 4 eng-ageable with al complementary surface of the knuckle 4,' the open position thereof being indicated by phantom lines atA 4a in Figure l.

The arm 52,A also comprises an arcuate throat 56 engageable with a conventional bottom pulling lug- 58; of the coupler head- 2 in the fullyoperi or disassembly position of the thrower 33, sa-id pulling lug being, adaptedfor cooperation in the-usual mannenwith` a complementarygpulling lug- (not^ shown) of thel knuckle 4t when the knuckle is lockedy and matedV with a knuckle (not shown offamating-` coupler when the couplers are under` draft, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The outer edge, of the arm 52 is provided with a safety lug 60 which merges with the top trunnion 44 and is received within a slot 62 (Figure 3) of the coupler head 2 partially deined by a wall 64 thereof having a surface 66 formed as a segment of a cone complementary to and substantially coaxial with the trunnion surface 48 and affording a bearing therefor, as best seen in Figure 3. The wall 64 also comprises a downwardly facing surface or abutment 68 normally overlying the lug 60, in all normal operating positions of the thrower 38 and adapted for engagement with the lug 60 during unusual upward movement of the thrower 38 to prevent accidental disengagement of its bottom trunnion 46 from a complementary pivot opening 70 of the coupler head 2 under unusual conditions, such as occasionally occur in railway service wherein the coupler head 2 is subjected to unusual vertical movements or is rotated during dumping of a dump car.

In prior art arrangements, the overlap of such a safety lug with the coupler wall 64 has been very slight due to the contour of the knuckle thrower throat, and an important feature of the present invention is an improved throat contour 56 and lug 60 which may be best seen in Figures l and 4, wherein it will be seen that the lug 60 is disposed between parallel planes A-A and B-B tangential to the throat 56 and nose 54, respectively, said planes being approximately perpendicular to the transverse vertical center plane C-C of the arm 52 and to the plane D--D which bisects' the trunnions 44 and 46, along the rotational axis X-X of the thrower 38. Also the lug 60 is provided with an outer edge 61 which is preferably approximately radial to the pivotal axis X-X of the thrower as will be best understood by a comparison of Figures 3 and 4; and the lug 60 is so arranged that any point on the radial edge 61 of said lug intersected by any vertical plane E-E perpendicular to plane C-C is spaced from the point Y of intersection between planes D-D and E-E a distance greater than one-third of the distance between point Y and the point of intersection of plane E-E with the outer edge 53 of the arm 52.

As best seen in Figure l, when the knuckle thrower 38 is in the knuckle-open position indicated in phantom lines at 38a in Figure l, more than one-third of the lug 60 underlies the wall 64, as indicated by the shading at 60a in Figure 1. Thus from the knuckle-open position of the thrower shown at 38a in Figure 1 an additional rotation of the knuckle thrower to the fully open or disassembly position indicated at 38]: in Figure 1 is required to release the lug 60 from beneath the wall 64. This additional rotation must be at least 70% of the amount of rotation required to move the thrower 38 from its knuckle-closed position, shown in solid lines in Figure l, to its knuckle-open position, shown at 38a in that figure. It will be understood that this additional rotation ordinarily takes place only in disassembly of the thrower 38 with respect to the coupler head 2. However, in worn couplers, rotation of the thrower 38 beyond its normal knuckle-open position, shown at 38a in Figure 1 occasionally takes place due to worn condition of the parts; and the above described improved arrangement positively prevents accidental disassembly of the thrower 38 in such worn couplers, particularly when used on cars operated through rotary dumpers which invert them.

Referring again to Figures l to 3, it will be seen that the extremity of the thrower arm 50, remote from its rotational axis X--X is disposed within a guide slot 72 in a wall of the coupler head 2 adjoining its guard arm 74, and as best seen in Figure 2, the slot 72 comprises a substantially horizontal upper surface 76 overlying the arm 50 and normally engaged therewith, when the lock is raised to engage its trunnnion lock 30 with the coupler head surface at 32, under which conditions a rearwardly facing cam surface 78 of the lock leg 20 engages a cooperating surface of the thrower arm 50. Thus the surface 76 positively prevents the thrower 38 from following the lock 10 upwardly under these conditions, as might otherwise occur, preventing the lock set seat 34frorn passing over the top of the arm 50.

Continued rotation of the rotor 28 in a lockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 2 causes the lock leg to rotate rearwardly and upwardly in a counterclockwise direction about the fulcrum point 32 thrower 38, a feature which also increases the elciency the thrower arm rearwardly pivoting thethrowerarm 38 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 1, to throw the knuckle 4 to open position, and it will be understood that as the knuckle moves to open position, the thrower arm 50 passes from beneath the surface 76 below a coupler` head surface 80 sloping upwardly and rearwardly from the surface 76 and overlying the path of the thrower arm 50 during a knuckle throwing operation. As best seen in Figure 2, the surface 80 is constantly spaced from the arm 50 inasmuch as the trunnion surface 48 and the knuckle head bearing surface 66 wedge the thrower 38 to the left, as seen in Figure 3, so that the bottom trunnion 46 is frictionally engaged as at 82 with the margin of the opening 70 at one side of the axis X-X, by wedge action of the surfaces 48 and 66 which are at the opposite side of that axis. Also, under these conditions, due to upward movement of the thrower 38, the lug thereof is engaged with the overlying surface 68 of the wall 64, as shown in Figure 3. Thus it will be understood that, as the thrower 38 is rotated from the position shown in Figure 2, the arm 50 thereof is spaced below the surface 80, and the entire frictional contact between the thrower 38 and the coupler head 2, under these conditions, is along the surfaces 66, 68 and 82, as seen in Figure 3, all of these surfaces being closely adjacent the rotational axis X--X of the thrower 38 to minimize frictional resistance to such movement of the thrower during a knuckle throwing operation.

The conical bearing surfaces 48 and 66 of the thrower 38 and coupler head 2, respectively, are also effective during such a knuckle throwing operation to maintain the rotational axis X-X of the thrower 38 in an approximately vertical position and prevent tilting cf the thrower 38 thereby further reducing relative movement between the contacting surfaces of the knuckle 4 and of the throwing mechanism.

I claim:

l. In an automatic railway coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle pivoted in said head, a thrower pivoted in said head and having a curved arm with a throat along its inner edge, said arm having a nose merging with said throat, and said nose being engageable with said knuckle to open the same, a safety lug projecting from the outer said axis, and said surface being so formed and ar ranged that any point on said surface intersected by any vertical plane perpendicular to said center plane is spaced from the point of intersection between the second mentioned and third mentioned planes a distance greater than the distance between said point of intersection and the point of intersection between said third mentioned plane and said outer edge of said arm, said thrower being rotatable in one direction a certain distance from knuckle closed position to knuckle open position, said lug and said abutment means being so formed and arranged that said abutment means overlie said lug during rotation of said thrower beyond said distance and in said direction through another distance not less than of said rst mentioned distance.

2. An automatic railway coupler knuckle thrower comprising a lock engaging arm and a knuckle actuating arm, means between said arms for pivoting the thrower to an associated coupler head, a throat at one side of the knuckle engaging arm terminating in a nose at the end of said arm, and a lug projecting from the opposite side of said knuckle actuating arm, said lug having a portion projecting therefrom beyond the pivot means, said lug having a bottom face spaced vertically from the bottom surface of the knuckle throwing arm and a top surface ush with the top surface of the arm.

3. An automatic railway coupler knuckle thrower comprising lock engaging and knuckle engaging arms, said throwerhaving al horizontally extending safety lug 2,695,718 5 r 6 projecting from the knuckle engaging arm and entirely OTHER REFERENCES disposed above a horizontal plane bisecting said arms. Association of American Railroads Circular No D. V.1193 Report of Committee on Couplers and References Clted m le me of uns patent 5 Draft Gears. Published May 27, 1949, pages 8 and 9.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,024,083 Kelso Apr. 23, 1912 10 

